The Hodder Reading Project Level 3-4 identifies blocks to progression and takes pupils from National Curriculum Level 3 to Level 4. It comprises the Teacher's Resource, Pupil's Book and 6 Readers. Reader 5, Level 4, The Willow Man by Sue Purkiss. Tom's life is changed when his younger sister, Sophie, is disabled by a stroke. As the family focuses on their hopes for her recovery, Tom is left to manage his own feelings. He befriends Ash, a classmate who struggles at school and has family problems of his own. Ash offers unexpected inspiration to Sophie who begins to coax her unwilling body back to life, and in return helps Ash with his learning difficulties. Each of them is, in his own way, frozen in his life, looking for a way to break free. Their sensitivity to each other's needs helps them to move forward. The huge willow sculpture of a man in the fields just outside the town becomes a metaphor for their attempts to break free and make a fresh start in their lives.